PT131.S3.Q12 > Question

SECTION 1 · lr

Question 1 Question 2 Question 3 Question 4 Question 5 Question 6 Question 7 Question 8 Question 9 Question 10 Question 11 Question 12 Question 13 Question 14 Question 15 Question 16 Question 17 Question 18 Question 19 Question 20 Question 21 Question 22 Question 23 Question 24 Question 25

SECTION 2 · lr

SECTION 3 · lr

SECTION 4 · rc

PASSAGE 1

Question 1 Question 2 Question 3 Question 4 Question 5 Question 6 Question 7 Question 8

PASSAGE 2

Question 9 Question 10 Question 11 Question 12 Question 13 Question 14 Question 15

PASSAGE 3

Question 16 Question 17 Question 18 Question 19 Question 20 Question 21 Question 22

PASSAGE 4

Question 23 Question 24 Question 25 Question 26 Question 27

The author concludes that a decrease in humidity can cause illness. She points to a correlation between a decrease in humidity and nurse visits at a particular high school.

This is a cookie-cutter correlation-to-causation argument, so the author predictably makes several assumptions.

(1) She assumes there is no alternative explanation for the increase in nurse visits.

(2) She assumes the nurse visits were specifically caused by illness instead of some other reason.

We would also normally be looking for reverse causation, but the author defends against this potential issue by telling us the nurse visits took place after the decrease in humidity.

This answer choice touches on the assumption that the nurse visits were caused by illness. If we negate this answer choice to say that none of the visits were caused by illness, the connection between humidity and illness is destroyed.

This answer choice is too strong. We only need at least some of the students to have suffered from the decrease in humidity, not a majority.

This answer choice could only hurt the argument. If it takes a full 24 hours to show viral symptoms, it would be unlikely for students sick with viruses to have already caused a 25 percent increase in nurse visits, ruling out viruses as the cause of the nurse visits.

This answer choice is far too strong. An 18 percent decrease in humidity doesn’t have to cause exactly a 25 percent increase in illness; it could be higher or lower, and the argument would still work.

The information about cutting costs is purely contextual and has no bearing on the conclusion. Regardless of whether or not it saved money, the modified AC system and subsequent drop in humidity very well could have caused the nurse visits and an increase in illnesses.

PrepTest 131 - Section 3 - Question 12

Difficulty

Analysis

Answer Popularity

Question history

Confirm action